Senator Wants Breaks for Frustrated Health Care Law Applicants

KAREN BLEIER/AFP/Getty Images (WASHINGTON) -- A Democratic supporter of the Affordable Care Act is calling on President Obama to extend the deadline for enrollment as well as waive penalties due to the problems millions have had with the healthcare.gov website. The president acknowledged that he was unhappy with the "glitches" that have prevented potential enrollees from signing up for insurance plans but remains confident that the problems will be corrected before long.

However, New Hampshire Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, in a letter sent Tuesday to the White House, said the difficulties people have had with "the federally facilitated marketplaces are...incredibly frustrating and disappointing."

Shaheen proposes extending the open enrollment period beyond the March 31, 2014 deadline as well as lifting penalties for people who can't sign up for a plan through no fault of their own because of technical problems with the website.

The White House had no comment about the senator's recommendations, only to say that the president's longtime adviser, Jeffrey Zients, is providing management advice to help repair the system.